When Irish Eyes Are Crying
"When Irish Eyes Are Crying" is the premiere episode of Miami Vice's third season. The episode premiered on September 26, 1986 and repeated on January 30, 1987 and April 24, 1987. Summary Gina falls for an Irish pacifist who is in reality a member of a terrorist organization. Plot Gina attends a fundraiser for Northern Irish children, put on by former IRA member Sean Carroon (Liam Neeson). He presents a slideshow about the recent IRA-British conflict while Switek and Zito listen in, as Izzy told them a weapons deal was going down. After Carroon finishes up, he and Gina have a talk about the current situation, while philanthropist Bunny Berrigan (Paul Gleason) offers to match any check for the children's coat fund dollar for dollar. Then a masked gunman bursts in, calling out Carroon by name. Gina orders him to drop his gun but is quickly forced to shoot him. When the gunman is unmasked he appears to be very young. At OCB, they find the shooter has no name, no ID, not even serial numbers on the Uzi he used. His prints are sent to INTERPOL and both Irelands. Everyone at the fundraiser was from the parish and no weapon deal was going down. Crockett feels that Carroon may be a target because knows about future terrorist operations, having once been part of the organizaion. Castillo takes Gina off the streets until the shooting report is back; she then gets a call from Carroon to have lunch, as thanks for saving his life. Switek and Zito ask Berrigan about Carroon; Berrigan says he moved to a beach suite earlier, fearing his presence might be a threat to his family because the Provos (terrorist organization) have him targeted for getting out. Izzy (Martin Ferrero) is walking a pack of greyhounds when Crockett and Tubbs confront him about his bum tip. Izzy refers them to Max Klizer, his source. Gina and Carroon take a walk on the beach and talk about their families. Their attraction is almost immediate, and they go to his hotel room to make love. Crockett has a meeting with Klizer the following evening. Castillo gets a call from Richard Cross (Daniel Gerroll), former commando turned Scotland Yard counter-terrorism agent. Cross reviews the current history of the IRA-British conflict, and says that a Provo agent, Danny Finnian, was the one killed by Gina at the fundraiser. Carroon, he believes, is in Miami to do something far beyond the Provos' capability, and those (like Gina) who get close to Carroon end up dead. Crockett and Tubbs (as Burnett and Topo Manyeri) go to see Max Klizer (Walter Gotell) with a list of weapon requests, and he refers Crockett (and only ''Crockett) to Eddie Kaye, his supplier. Carroon tells Gina about his violent past and that now he only wants peace - and a woman to love. Switek and Zito are observing Berrigan while Tubbs tells Gina about Cross' file on Carroon; Gina wants to follow her instincts, unless Tubbs can produce a warrant proving otherwise. Crockett goes to see Eddie Kaye (Jeff Fahey) in a backwoods area and sets up a meet. Switek and Zito continue survillence on Carroon and Berrigan while Castillo meets with Cross, who warns Castillo that Carroon will cross the line eventually, upon which he (Cross) will be given authority by the British government to take action. Switek and Zito monitor a conversation between Carroon and Berrigan about some group "trying again" but cannot make out anything else due to interference. Crockett is concerned that Cross has done nothing but talk about the threat Carroon presents when there is no proof, no warrants, no nothing. Berrigan and Carroon meet with Klizer about a weapon shipment, and offer 100% markup for delivery in 36 hours. After getting a call from Klizer, Kaye meets with Crockett & Tubbs who tells them they will be two stingers short. Crockett becomes irate about the shortfall, then dares to ask Kaye about the quality of the weapons, questioning whether they will even work after several years in storage. By way of a rebuttal, Kaye takes a stinger (leaving them three short now), aims it at Crockett's Ferrari Daytona, and pulls the trigger. Crockett rages to Klizer about his car being blown up, and demands that he or Kaye make up the difference. Tubbs indicates his "associates" are going to be unhappy about the shortfall in stingers; Klizer admits he got a better offer at double retail, declining to reveal who the other buyer is. Crockett begins smashing Klizer's "priceless" statues until he gives up his buyer - Sean Carroon. Crockett tells a distraught Gina about Carroon's purchase, and Switek says Berrigan requested an Atlantic International flight schedule to take the Concorde to London from a travel agent, but it didn't leave at the right time. Upon further investigation, Berrigan has taken eight London trips in the past two years, and has withdrawn a lot of money over the past few months, including $150,000 at open of business that day (to purchase the stingers from Klizer). Crockett reviews the flight schedule and determines that the Concorde will leave the next day at 10 A.M., and the beach Carroon and Berrigan were walking on previously is in the flight path of the Concorde. Castillo asks Gina to keep her date with Carroon that night and for everyone to meet at OCB the next morning. Gina goes to see Carroon, but her mind is not on the date, so makes up a fake reason (friend being sick) for her mood before leaving. A drunken Cross, disgusted that no one is heeding his warnings, makes a call to Carroon, warning him about the beach. At OCB Castillo makes plans to stop Carroon's plan to take down the Concorde. Berrigan, Kaye and Carroon drive to the airport, dropping Carroon inside the parking garage before leaving. Castillo, Crockett and Tubbs follow the van to the beach, and shoot Berrigan and Kaye down when they try to take them in, but Carroon isn't there. Castillo, having back-traced phone calls made to Carroon's hotel room, arrests Cross for calling Carroon to warn him about their operation, so they can do things ''his way. Tubbs is unable to reach Switek or Zito and they realize Carroon, who must have been dropped off at the garage, can take out the Concorde while it's on the tarmac, so they head back to the airport. They find Zito knocked out and Switek gagged -- he tells them Carroon is on the roof. Gina, who arrives first, demands Carroon drop the stinger. Carroon attempts to appeal to her, but finally tells her this isn't her war. Crockett arrives and Carroon starts to pull a gun, forcing both Gina and Crockett to shoot him. The impact knocks Carroon over the side to his death. Bursting into tears, Gina is consoled by Crockett and Tubbs. Cast *Don Johnson as Metro-Dade Detective James "Sonny" Crockett *Philip Michael Thomas as Metro-Dade Detective Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs *Saundra Santiago as Metro-Dade Detective Gina Calabrese *Michael Talbott as Metro-Dade Detective Stan Switek *John Diehl as Metro-Dade Detective Larry Zito *Olivia Brown as Metro-Dade Detective Trudy Joplin *Edward James Olmos as Metro-Dade Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo Guest Stars *Liam Neeson as Sean Carroon *Martin Ferrero as Izzy Moreno *Paul Gleason as Bunny Berrigan *Daniel Gerroll as Scotland Yard Agent Richard Cross *Walter Gotell as Max Klizer *Jeff Fahey as Eddie Kaye Co-Starring *Matt Ford as Intruder *Barry Grayson as Father Gaffney Uncredited *Unknown as Manny Changes The beginning of Season 3 marked a noticeable turning point in the show's feel, with many changes to the usual styles introduced, including: * The Miami Vice logo is illuminated in ice blue instead of pink. The pink lettering of the word "Vice" is also changed to purple. * The storylines, along with the general tones of the show, also become grittier and nihilistic; more episodes end abruptly after a violent climax that leaves numerous people dead, both good as bad alike. * The pastel clothing is largely eschewed in favour of dark greens, yellows, and blues, a move severely criticised by fans at the time. * Tubbs' hair becomes short, whilst Crockett's becomes shorter and spiked in appearance. * Crockett's car changes to the Ferrari Testarossa in "Stone's War". * Smoking among the characters (especially Crockett) is gradually phased out. "Ripped From The Headlines" After Dick Wolf took over as line producer, several of Miami Vice's stories appeared to be "ripped from the headlines", a trademark of his Law & Order series. In this episode, he references the civil unrest between the Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland (often referred to as "The Troubles") that lasted 30 years. The opening montage (as well as several times in the episode) references the Maze hunger strike where Bobby Sands became a symbol of the war in 1980-81. Notes * Paul Gleason was best known for his role as Principal Richard Vernon in the 1980's iconic movie The Breakfast Club. * Liam Neeson was nominated for an Oscar in 1993 for his role in Schindler's List, but is best known for his role as Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. * The closing credits mention "Crockett's Car provided by Ferrari North America", but his car in this episode is still the fake Ferrari Daytona. Crockett doesn't get his Testarossa until the next episode, "Stone's War", though Bennigan is driving a black Testerossa in this episode. * The Concorde was the world's first commercially operated supersonic airliner (while the Russian Tu-144 was completed first, it did not enter service until after Concorde had begun flying passengers). It was jointly developed by the British and the French and introduced to regular air travel in 1976. It had a top speed of Mach 2 and was capable of crossing the Atlantic in less than three and a half hours, under half the time of traditional sub-sonic airliners. Economic, safety and enviornmental concerns forced the Concorde's retirement in 2003. * Originally the third season opener was to be a two-hour premiere set in Ireland, but was scrapped when Don Johnson was unavailable due to a recording commitment for his album Heartbeat. * With the scrapping of the planned Ireland premiere, the episode "El Viejo" was subsequently intended to be the season opener, but was held back due to Don Johnson's holdout and studio executives at NBC thinking the destruction of Crockett's car would make a better start to the season. As a result of this change, the Daytona would be "resurrected" six episodes after its destruction, causing a major continuity error. * The show's reference to the IRA is most likely aimed at the Provisional Irish Republican Army or Provos, a splinter group formed in 1969 which grew to become the main faction on the nationalist side of The Troubles. Their most infamous actions included the murder of Lord Louis Mountbatten, the uncle of Prince Philip, Duke Of Edinburgh, in 1979, the Brighton Hotel bombing, aimed at assassinating then-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, in 1984, the Manchester bombing in 1996, and the Omagh bombing in 1998, which remains the second deadliest terrorist bombing in Britain after the 7th July attacks. Goofs * When Crockett and Tubbs visit Max Klizer, a boom mic is visible at the bottom right of the screen, at times almost moving into centre frame. Production Notes * Filmed: July 1, 1986 - July 11, 1986 * Production Code: 62004 * Production Order: 46 Filming Locations *North End of Virginia Key (Gina/Caroon taking walk) *Jimbo's Place, Virginia Key (Eddie Kaye's hangout) *Sand dunes North of Virginia Key (Crockett's car is blown up) *No Name Harbor, Key Biscayne (Shooting at van with Kaye and Berrigan) *Perimeter Road/NW 22nd Street, Miami (Parking garage where Carroon picks up stinger, then is shot dead) Music *"Imagine" by John Lennon (Opening sequence showing history of Northern Ireland conflict) *"The Last Unbroken Heart" by Patti LaBelle and Bill Champlin (Gina & Carroon make love and at end when Gina kills Carroon) *"Wildcats of Kilkenny" by The Pogues (After Crockett's Daytona explodes) Quotes thumb|right|300px|They did go 'BANG', taking out Crockett's Car in the process! *"I'm going to rip Izzy's head off!" "Make sure you get our Ben Franklin back before you do!" -- Switek & Zito *"I'm colorblind, as long as the money's green!" -- Eddie Kaye to Tubbs *"How do I know these are gonna go 'BANG'?" -- Crockett to Kaye questioning the reliability of the stinger missiles *''"Sold!" -- Tubbs to Kaye after the stinger went "BANG!" and blew up Crockett's Daytona'' *"It's not your war, Gina." -- Carroon to Gina Category:Miami Vice Season 3 Episodes